The UFC abruptly fired Nate Marquardt the day before he was to fight in the main event of UFC on Versus 4 on Sunday night. The reason for the dismissal is unknown although a definitive word should be released prior to the event.
Via MMA Fighting:
“Not only is he out of this fight and out of the main event on Versus, he will no longer be with the UFC,” White said.
Rick Story, a late fill-in, will now fight Charles Brenneman. And the fight has been demoted with the Pat Barry-Cheick Kongo fight being elevated to the main event. This is disappointing for Story since he was hoping that a win over Marquardt would build his resume with hopes of facing the GSP-Diaz winner. A win over Brenneman is not the win Story wanted.
Payout Perspective:
The firing of Marquardt comes with many questions but little answers. Issues with making weight were dismissed as a reason which leads one to believe there are bigger reasons. A longtime vet of the UFC (and former contender) usually receives a better farewell. Was it a quick trigger considering White’s disappointment with Marquardt after his loss to Yushin Okami? One might recall that Marquardt’s performance lead to White’s criticism of Greg Jackson fighters.
From a PR perspective, it would help if the reason for the dismissal was made known. The fact that no reason was given allows the media to go wild with speculation. While the UFC is one of the top organizations in social media, something of this magnitude should have been addressed immediately before (or after) the weigh-ins via press conference. A simple tweet does not help.
The news makes the ratings between the Nate Marquardt marathon on Spike TV and the UFC on Versus 4 live event much closer. The Barry-Kongo feature bout is not that intriguing a fight considering its between two mid-card fighters nowhere close to fighting for the title.
It will also be interesting to see how fans react to the news. The Marquardt firing may hurt attendance as well as television ratings for the event.
Its messed up i love free ufc fight but they should know buy now will all the fighters they have give us more than one main fight i understand u have to showece young talent as well but ill still watch and be happy to do so
I believe the reason nothing has been released is legal issues. It is logical to assume that if Dana or Nate made a statement off the cuff it could hurt either party in a potential lawsuit. For Nate, he is going to have to answer to the Pennsylvania athletic commission. And he needs to have his ducks in a row. Dana and Zuffa need to be careful not to incur a lawsuit for wrongful termination. The reason for the delay could only be legal in my opinion. Why else would it take this long?
On a different note, I wonder if Nate will be able to fight in Strikeforce? Or will Dana and Zuffa forbid Coker from signing him? If not, I guess Nate fights for Bellator or in Japan. He still has name value overseas and could make a handsome living there.
Bill,
I think Strikeforce is out. Since it is owned by Zuffa, there is no way Dana lets Nate back in (at least not for a while). Bellator looks like the landing place for Nate. Which isn’t too bad for Bjorn.
If you watched the pre-fight coverage on Zuffa, Dana was very careful with his words. What’s interesting is that Marquardt is waiting unitl Tuesday to speak.